Extreme Polo Sport (1998)
by Ralph Lauren

Let’s get one thing straight – there is nothing “extreme” or “sport” about this fragrance at all. And the industrial sporty bottle does nothing to dispel these connotations either. RL EPS is the opposite of a sports fragrance – simply put, it is a light incense/woody masculine. Starts off with a spicy & peppery aroma of juniper, nutmeg and pepper. Reminds me a bit of the great Gucci Pour Homme and Azzaro Visit but decidedly lighter than both. I don’t really detect any heart notes per se and the incense woody notes appear as the spice & pepper wear off. Not really deep incense like you find in Lutens and CdG but more of a light incense vibe that won’t make you smell like a church. Longevity is average, lasting only 4-5 hours before it’s all gone.

EPS is a nice alternative to the heavier incense-based frags and a nice gem if you can find it as Ralphy has long discontinued it.

7/10

When I experience the opening blast on my skin, there is a predominance of mint, coriander and juniper. The latter is not of very high quality - this is no Baie de Genievre - but the combination is not without originality, especially when bergamot is added a bit later on. The drydown mixed mid-strong peppery notes with green herbal impressions, whilst towards the base phase woody notes are added, especially a touch of cedarwood. In the last hour a fairly unobtrusive gentle incense raises its head, but this is never in the foreground on me.
Whilst his not a spectacular composition, it is overall less generic and predictable than many other scents of the same house, although they clearly made better Polos. I get moderate sillage, adequate albeit not very prominent projection, with nearly seven hours of longevity; the performance is not bad then. This scent is good for spring, and hovering between neutral and positive in its score; eventually I give is a positive score - just. 3/5.

This is a gem, though not many would agree. The name is entirely deceiving, as it comes across as something you could expect from Crabtree and Evelyn or Roger and Gallet.

Think masculine dusty berry with some green herbal notes. Then there is the pepper, which wraps it all together. I like it a lot and it never fails to get a compliment.

Smells nothing like Bvlgari Pour Homme by the way.

bought this but wanted polo sport instead. i thought they were the same fragrance. the black pepper is pretty strong in this one. great spice scent.

I very recently stumbled across a large bottle of this in a shop in the Middle East and bought it mainly because I liked the look of its funky silver bottle. I don’t get the link between the fragrance itself and extreme sports as there is nothing bright, bracing, sporty or “blue” about the smell. All I get is a strong black pepper-like fragrance whenever I apply it that is not unlike Boss XY. Perhaps the pepper is supposed to invigorate you or clear your head prior to a bungee jump and the like. The fragrance also has pathetic longevity lasting on me about one hour at most. There are many other superior sporty fragrances that are more easily available including Aqua Quorum and Givenchy Insense Ultramarine to name but two. In summary, bottle = thumbs up; scent = thumbs down. Overall a thumbs down.